Ahlborn Named PCI Fellow

Tess Ahlborn has been elected a fellow of PCI, the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute.

Ahlborn, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Michigan Technological University, was honored for “outstanding contributions to the precast prestressed concrete industry.”

Ahlborn was named PCI’s 2010 Distinguished Educator for her contributions to improving concrete-design course work during her years at Michigan Tech. Her research expertise is in the area of structural concrete materials and applications related to prestressed concrete bridges, including high-performance concrete and ultra-high-performance concrete applications for structural sustainability.

As director of the Center for Structural Durability within the Michigan Tech Transportation Institute, she has conducted research on full-size bridge girders, statistical evaluation of prestress losses and differential camber issues, performance studies of decked precast prestressed girders for rapid construction, and inspection and repair of I-beam and box-beam systems.

She has revitalized the prestressed concrete research program with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and worked extensively with them to seek solutions for durable highway structures emphasizing prestressed concrete applications.

Ahlborn leads a team of two dozen Michigan Tech researchers working to identify the best remote-sensing technologies for monitoring the health of bridges. The $2.8 million project is supported by the US Department of Transportation, MDOT, the Center for Automotive Research, and Michigan Tech.

A member of the PCI Research & Development Council, Ahlborn has been active as a PCI Convention session moderator and reviewer for conference proceedings. She initiated the Women in PCI event, an annual affair since 2005. More than 70 professional women have used this networking opportunity to establish relationships that benefit the precast concrete structures industry.

Michigan Technological University (www.mtu.edu) is a leading public research university developing new technologies and preparing students to create the future for a prosperous and sustainable world. Michigan Tech offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering; forest resources; computing; technology; business; economics; natural, physical and environmental sciences; arts; humanities; and social sciences.